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As he sails merrily along, nailing field goals and executing onside kicks and even making inartistic tackles, David Akers points to an unlikely factor in his smoother-than-velvet transition to the 49ers.

It’s a lefty thing, essentially.

Or put another way: Give an assist to Joe Nedney.

Akers was talking last week about the adjustments he had to make upon joining the 49ers this season after 12 years in Philadelphia. He bemoaned the upheaval of moving his family across the country. He spoke of the futility in trying to understand Candlestick Park’s infamously swirling winds, which he could face again in today’s home game against Arizona.

And then Akers arrived at a key point. Maybe he’s thriving in San Francisco – 23-of-25 on field goals, 91 points, on pace to shatter Jerry Rice’s single-season franchise scoring record – in part because his holder, Andy Lee, already knew how to handle a left-footed kicker.

This seems like an inside-the-huddle nuance of pro football – until you learn it was one big reason Akers felt comfortable signing with the 49ers as a free agent. He knew Lee had spent the past six seasons holding for Nedney, another left-footed kicker, and would not need to retrain his hands to do everything the opposite way.

“It’s a huge factor,” Akers said. “If a guy has done it for years, holding through high school and college, you’re used to catching the ball one way. Then all of a sudden you flip it around – now you’ve got the ‘wrong’ knee up and you’re holding with the ‘wrong’ hand. It can become a real mess.”

Familiar feat

This actually makes sense. For left-footed kickers, Lee holds the ball with his right hand and spins it, to turn the laces, with his left. This requires a certain deftness of touch – quickly, under pressure – but it’s already second nature for Lee after all his time working with Nedney.

Nedney gets it. Back in 2000, he signed with Carolina specifically because the holder there previously worked with a left-footed kicker (John Kasay, who was injured that season). Nedney, like Akers, understood the risks of asking a holder to relearn his job.

“It’s like brushing your teeth with your opposite hand,” Nedney said.

No matter the details, Akers is clearly clicking. (He and Lee also cited the reliability of longtime long snapper Brian Jennings.) Akers is on pace to kick 41 field goals this season, which would obliterate the single-season 49ers record held by Jeff Wilkins (30 in 1996).

At this rate, Akers also would finish the year with 162 points – easily surpassing Rice’s record of 138 set in 1987. He traced a different route to the scoreboard, naturally, scoring 23 touchdowns that season.

“C’mon, Jerry Rice deserves to have that record,” Akers said, sheepish to land in the same sentence as the greatest wide receiver ever.

We’re talking apples and oranges, anyway, given the dramatically different job descriptions of a placekicker and wide receiver. Even so, to score 91 points in nine games means Akers is performing his duties with extreme efficiency.

He has even made 5 of 5 field goal attempts from 50-plus yards. Only three other kickers in the NFL have made five or more field goals of 50-plus yards this season: Sebastian Janikowski of the Raiders, Phil Dawson of Cleveland and Josh Scobee of Jacksonville.

The overall efficiency shouldn’t count as altogether surprising. Akers, who turns 37 next month, is a five-time Pro Bowl selection who has made more than 82 percent of his career field-goal attempts. At the same time, he hadn’t made more than two from 50-plus yards in a season until 2011.

The 49ers obviously are giving him a chance to shine. Their offense does not exactly stockpile touchdowns the way Rice/Joe Montana/Steve Young did in the glory days, and coach Jim Harbaugh leans toward conservative decision-making. He gladly settles for field goals, especially given Akers’ reliability.

‘Darn near perfect’

Akers went a step further in last Sunday’s win over the New York Giants, bouncing a perfect onside kick and making an ambitious tackle on another kickoff. That less-than-graceful takedown earned Akers some good-natured grief from his teammates.

“He’s just having a sensational season,” Harbaugh said. “He was darn near perfect and flawless (against the Giants) – touchbacks, onside kick, field goals. He’s doing a heck of a job.”

That Akers is doing it at Candlestick, hardly a haven for kickers, makes his season even more notable. Much as baseball power hitters seek small ballparks in free agency, NFL kickers usually covet domes or at least stadiums without much wind.

Candlestick whiffs on both counts.

But Akers decided to come west, partly because of his association with the Harbaugh family. John Harbaugh, Jim’s brother, was Akers’ special-teams coach in Philadelphia for eight seasons, and their dad, Jack Harbaugh, recruited Akers to Western Kentucky. He ultimately signed with Louisville but remained friendly with the family.

That history, and the lefty-trained Lee, trumped the challenges of Candlestick.

“I was a little surprised when David decided to come here, because it’s not an easy place to kick,” said Lee, who would know as San Francisco’s punter since 2004. “Most guys dream of a dome, and Candlestick is far from it. … I’m just glad to have him here.”

Said Akers: “I’ve played in the Northeast my whole career. It gets really breezy there. The difference is, you can kind of start to figure out the wind. Out here, they tell me you can’t figure it out. Once you figure out that you can’t figure it out, then you have it figured out – that was Andy’s quote.”

Nedney’s impressed

All the while, Akers is proving a worthy successor to Nedney, who had six strong seasons for the 49ers, until a degenerative condition in his right knee led to arthroscopic surgery. Nedney needed micro-fracture surgery to extend his career, and he decided that wasn’t worth it at age 38.

He’s living in the Santa Cruz Mountains, coaching special teams at his local high school and closely following the 49ers, his favorite team growing up in the Bay Area.

“Even if I wanted, I couldn’t go out there and do what David’s doing right now,” Nedney said. “I couldn’t kick a 35-yard field goal (because of the knee), and he’s kicking 50-yarders like it’s nothing.”

Or maybe it’s a lefty thing.

Today’s games

Raiders at Vikings, 10 a.m. Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46

Cardinals at 49ers, 1 p.m. Channel: 2 Channel: 40

Eagles at Giants, 5:20 p.m. Channel: 11 Channel: 3 Channel: 8

Inside

Jared Valdheer and the Raiders ready for sack leader Jared Allen.

Eagles Michael Vick and Jeremy Maclin out for Giants game. B10

Elite company

49ers placekicker David Akers has scored 91 points through nine games, putting him on pace to eclipse Jerry Rice’s single-season franchise scoring record. Here’s a look at the top scoring seasons in 49ers history:

1. Jerry Rice (1987): 138 points (23 touchdowns)

2. Mike Cofer (1989): 136 points (29-36 FG/49-51 on XP)

3. Ray Wersching (1984): 131 points (25-35 FG/56-56 on XP)

4. Jeff Wilkins, (1996): 130 points (30-34 FG/40-40 on XP)

5. Ray Wersching (1983): 126 points (25-30 FG/51-51 on XP)

2011 scoring leaders

Akers also ranks among this year’s NFL leaders in points. Here are the top five:

Player, team

Points

FGs

PATs

1. John Kasay, Saints

99

22-27

33-33

2. David Akers, 49ers

91

23-25

22-22

3. Dan Bailey, Cowboys

91

23-24

22-22

4. Neil Rackers, Texans

87

19-22

30-31

5. Mason Crosby, Packers

86

16-16

38-38

49ers today

1:05 p.m., Channel: 2 Channel: 40 (680, 107.7)

Spotlight on: CB Chris Culliver. With starter Tarell Brown questionable with a knee injury, Culliver could make his first NFL start. The athletic and physical rookie has played well since assuming the role of No. 3 cornerback in Week 5, but the Giants picked on him last week. Mario Manningham beat Culliver for a 12-yard TD and got by him for what would have been a 42-yard TD, if Eli Manning’s pass hadn’t been overthrown. Next up is a bigger challenge in Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald, a five-time Pro Bowl player who has established an excellent rapport with fill-in QB John Skelton.

Injury notes: 49ers – RB Frank Gore (knee) is questionable. Gore has said he will play, but he could share carries with rookie Kendall Hunter, given his health status and a Thanksgiving game against the Ravens looming. Cardinals – LB Joey Porter (knee) will miss his fourth straight game; QB Kevin Kolb (toe) is questionable, but is expected to sit out; RB Beanie Wells (knee) is questionable, but will play.

Keys to a 49ers victory

1. Pressure John Skelton: The Cardinals’ 26th-ranked ground game probably won’t do much against the NFL’s top run defense, leaving the offense in the hands of Arizona’s second-year QB. Skelton has shown flashes in his past two starts (4 TDs, 2 INTs), but he’ll have trouble if his front five can’t keep him upright. The Cardinals have allowed 31 sacks, tied for the second-most in the NFL.

2. Rein in the rookie: Nine games into his NFL career, Arizona’s Patrick Peterson has become the second player in NFL history with three punt return touchdowns of 80 or more yards (99, 89, 82) in a season. Peterson ranks second in the NFL in punt-return average (17.6 yards).

3. Convert a few more third downs: The 49ers have had only two TD drives of more than 50 yards in their past four games, in part, because they’ve converted only 14 of 52 third downs (27 percent) during that span.